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FAN THEORY THURSDAY: What Sort of Hero Will Megamind Be?

Gasp and shock! I’ve actually managed to post two weeks in a row, and this one is even on a REAL THURSDAY! If you’re thinking about playing the lottery or taking up a career as a professional gambler, apparently this is the day to do it. Hahaha!

With luck this wonderful, maybe that one person who has never yet watched Megamind will even finally give it a go, but in case they don’t: SPOILER WARNING!

At the end of the animated movie Megamind, the former villain has, of course, just been officially named the local Defender. One question that a lot of fans have, however, is: “what sort of a hero will Megamind be?” With a new sequel series, Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City, now in the works, this has become an even more prominent topic of discussion. Some suggest that we may witness our favorite blue genius messing up a lot, at least initially, as well as being a bit of a goofball while others propose that he may actually be excellent at his new job. Can fan theories and film evidence provide any insights? Let’s find out!

What Makes a Hero?

The first thing necessary to discern, of course, is exactly what makes someone a hero. Of course, as the Defender of Metro City, Megamind would be expected to protect the populace from threats and crimes, but that probably isn’t the sum total of the requirements. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a hero as “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.” What specific noble qualities are we talking about? Beyond the obvious selfless interest in the welfare of others, myriad other possibilities come to mind. Luckily, the film gives us some idea of which characteristics Megamind may choose to focus on.

During the scene inside of the Metroman Museum, Megamind, disguised as Bernard, discusses with Roxanne the required traits for a hero. These include bravery, strength, and determination. Add to this the aforementioned desire to protect and help others along with a capacity to do so and the result is a fairly good recipe for a hero. The truly interesting thing about this conversation is that, although he clearly doesn’t recognize it at the time, during the movie we see that Megamind possesses all of these qualities.

Bravery

Make no mistake, even when he was a supervillain, Megamind’s courage rated well above average. He survived numerous battles and faced off with not one but two superpowered foes. When Titan tried to kill him, he didn’t panic or freeze, but rather took immediate action, and when Roxanne needed him, he put his life on the line to save her. Even when he is falling to his apparent death, the alien genius managed to remain calm enough to keep his heart beating and devise a plan. This fellow has nerves of steel.

Perhaps most impressive of all, however, is the fact that, despite being ostracized, bullied, humiliated, and mocked all of his life, he still regularly subjected himself to the public eye. True, the blue man cares a great deal about presentation, and always put on a good show even as a villain, but I would argue that the constant dislike and rejection of everyone around him certainly had an effect.

As I mentioned last week in Hal is Not Megamind’s Greatest Enemy, it seems clear that the alien genius continued to disguise himself as Bernard while dating Roxanne because he felt certain that was the only way to spend time with her. Not only that, but his reactions to the disguise watch failing or to anyone moving too close unexpectedly make it fairly clear that he legitimately thought he might be physically attacked. (You can read more about that in What’s Hidden in the Animation.) Fan theories suggest that this all indicates he fully expected to be hated and harmed wherever he went and felt a certain amount of vulnerability as a result. Yet he continuously put himself out there, again and again, opening himself to public disdain and fighting even though he knew he would likely be hurt every time. If that isn’t bravery, I don’t know what is.

Strength

If you’ve read earlier Fan Theory Thursday posts, you already know that Megamind is inhumanly strong. He may not be able to match Metroman’s immense physical power, but he’s certainly no pushover. For example, in How Strong is Megamind we examined what occurs during the movie when Megamind punches Titan. More specifically, we discovered that the pressure behind the blue man’s blow to his enemy’s face is obviously greater than the tensile strength of a circular saw blade because it was the saw and not Megamind’s bones that broke.

A follow-up fan theory article, Megamind’s Anatomy Part 2, expanded upon this observation. The average compressive strength of a circular saw is 750 one-million Megapascal Pressure Units, or MPa, and Pounds Per Square Inch pressure (psi) can be calculated as MPa x 145. This would mean that in order to break a saw blade, someone would need over 108,000 psi. Now, of course, the edge of the blade is the weakest point, so the blue man probably isn’t actually that powerful, but he would still have to be multiple times stronger than even the most muscular human males.

Add to that the fact that, several times during the movie, Megamind picks up Roxanne Ritchi without any visible effort—who is said to be a US dress size Medium and thus estimated to weigh about 150 pounds, or 70 kilograms—and it becomes clear that, although he may look slender, Megamind is surprisingly strong. This is especially true because, given their respective sizes, Roxanne is probably a little heavy than the former villain himself, meaning that he is able to lift more than his own body weight with apparent ease. (Feel free to read the aforementioned article as well as What Would Megamind Look Like in Real Life if you would like to learn more about that.)

Determination

Of course, physical power isn’t the only kind of strength, and Megamind possesses a will every bit as puissant as his body. He and Minion were raised in prison, surrounded by adult criminals, and Megamind almost certainly had to fight to keep them safe. Nonetheless, he not only survived but thrived. He made himself into the top supervillain in Metro City. In an unused storyboard the Doom Syndicate, a band of other local Bad Guys, appears to defer to him, and, according to some fan theories, built a criminal empire from nothing.

According to the comic The Reign of Megamind, which is considered largely canon, the blue man has concocted over 600 plots before the movie even begins. He’s been defeated by Metroman every time, yet he continues to proverbially dust himself off and try once more. How many of us could face over 600 failures without ever giving up? Indeed, during the film he explains that “there is a benefit to losing; you get to learn from your mistakes." In The Reign of Megamind he echoes this sentiment, saying: “Losses are learning experiences. Defeats build determination.” And that’s not all. As I mentioned recently in Hal is Not Megamind’s Greatest Enemy, when, during his final battle with Titan, the former villain finds himself temporarily in too much pain to walk, he crawls instead. Nothing stops Megamind for long. Obviously, the blue man has determination in spades!

Selflessness

As I stated at the beginning of this post, a selfless desire look after the well-being of others in an aspect of heroism not specifically mentioned in the movie. Nonetheless, it is one that Megamind embodies. Following Titan’s attempt to murder the blue man and commencement of a city-wide rampage, Megamind goes to Roxanne for help in finding his new foe’s weakness. A less courageous and caring person might have fled, and the blue man certainly had the capacity to do so. He had a disguise watch so it isn’t as if Titan could easily identify him. If the hoverbike seemed too risky, he could have stolen a car. (After all, the alien genius was already a criminal and presumably not above grand theft auto.)

However, Megamind doesn’t leave, instead choosing to face an overpowered homicidal man-child in an effort to set things right. Despite being a supervillain and despite the callous way nearly every citizen of Metro City treated him for decades, he is willing to risk his life to save the populace. Even when he addresses his concerns to Roxanne, Megamind never so much as mentions the fact that Titan wants him dead. Rather, his primary worry is that the new Bad Guy will “destroy the whole city.” For someone who is supposedly evil, that’s a very selfless stance to take. (I go into more detail about this character trait in Megamind and Identity.)

Capability

Having the heart of a hero often isn’t enough unless one also has the ability to change negative situations. In an alternate reality where supers regularly make the battle between good and evil literal, that means being able to win a fight. Megamind certainly displays this capacity.

Not only is he strong, as I’ve said before, but he’s tough. Before the movie begins, the former villain has faced off with Metroman hundreds of times which, given his one-time nemesis’s powers, must have required a great deal of resilience. His hardened reputation is notable enough that he feels completely unthreatened in jail. Furthermore, during his confrontations with Titan, he survives his battle suit being ploughed through a multi-story building and his person being thrown against a brick wall hard enough to crack it. Of course, as I’ve mentioned before in Megamind’s Cloak, there is a fan theory that the blue man’s spikes contain electrodes that produce an energy shield which might help him endure such events. Nonetheless, he would still have to be incredibly tough.

He just as obviously knows how to fight. We see him throw a couple of good punches at Titan, fire the De-Gun without ever missing, and even expertly fence during his first battle with the film’s antagonist. Thus the blue man demonstratively knows how to use a rapier, a pistol, and his fists. Indeed, he appears to be highly skilled with all three. This has led fans to theorize that he may be trained in the use of other weapons and techniques as well. Either way, although he often relies on his inventions to get the job done, Megamind seems to be quite capable of defending himself in more traditional ways. That versatility would be a definitive advantage in any fight.

Speaking of inventions, along with his physical abilities, Megamind is also amazingly brilliant. He calls himself a genius. But “super-genius” would be more accurate. In How Smart is Megamind, I estimated that his IQ is probably around 350, significantly higher than the smartest human on record. (In fact, he beats both Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking by almost 200 points, and the estimated IQ of the smartest person on record, William James Sidis, by around 100.)

We definitely see him using that intelligence during the film. He creates things that modern scientists and engineers only dream of, such as hard light holograms, cyborgs, and a fully-functional invisibility shield—not to mention Minion’s wireless neuroprosthetic suit! He devises ingenious plots—predicting that Roxanne will reveal their location and planning around it, sending Minion, disguised with a holowatch, to buy time while he himself scans Metroman’s likeness and voice into his own device—and he thinks quickly on his feet, even under pressure. (An excellent example is when he dehydrates himself above a large fountain to survive what would otherwise likely be a fatal fall.)

Just as he invented doom devices while a villain, many suspect we will see him building advanced machines and technology as the Defender. Indeed, one fan theory draws parallels between the blue man and another black-clad superhero who relies on martial skills, intelligence, and gadgets: Batman. Given that Megamind is, to an extent, a spoof on DC comics, that supposition is not entirely unfounded.

Goodness

Finally, although he spent the majority of his adult life as a supervillain, Megamind is a good person. He respects Roxanne, calling her the smartest person he knows, and, despite clearly being attracted to her and having her in his power multiple times, he never takes advantage of her in any way. As previously mentioned, he seems to truly care about the city and its people. Indeed, he seems predisposed to care. He treats his henchman more like a friend or a brother, and dotes on his cyborgs like pets.

Beyond this, he really does have a silly, lovable side. Remember the goofiness mentioned at the beginning of this post? It’s most certainly a part of his personality. He pranks the warden, plays with the brainbots, laughs with Minion, and cracks a joke on stage when he becomes the Defender of Metro City. Even his banter is comical. He seems to have taken the time to truly know Roxanne and, while disguised as Bernard, usually plans their dates at places he knows she’ll love, such as the park and the library. Judging by his interactions with youngsters during both Button of Doom and the Bad Blue Brilliant comics, he appears to like children although he tries to hide it. He’s lively and jovial, making geeky references throughout the film and rocking out to classic heavy metal. Although he certainly takes his battles seriously, he still enjoys meeting the challenge and putting on a show. Clearly, Megamind is a legitimately good person with a fun-loving disposition and a great sense of humor. This cheerful outlook will doubtlessly help him win citizens over and keep a positive mindset.

So, what kind of hero will Megamind be? It appears probable that all of the fan theories are correct. He will likely make mistakes, but he will learn from them. He will certainly still be the same charmingly goofy blue alien we all love. However, given all of his personal qualities, he will also be a proficient and dedicated Defender. All in all, I think we can agree that Metro City is lucky to have him.

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